IOWA CITY, Iowa — Putting an end, at least for the time being, of the Optiva name change controversy, the chairman and two directors of the $544 million University of Iowa Community Credit Union have been re-elected to the CU board surviving a dissident challenge at the annual meeting.
“It was a good turnout and we're happy with the support our board received,” said Jeff Disterhoft, the president/CEO who for months has been at the center of a member dispute climaxing Feb 28 in cancellation of a change in the CU's name to Optiva CU.
The cancellation came after members voted the brand switch down in a special membership meeting followed by the threats to defeat the three board members up for re-election at the annual meeting March 21.
Re-elected were Eldean Borg, chairman, and directors Charles Mason and Fred Mims, each receiving 650-plus votes compared to the dissident, write-in candidate, Caroline Dieterle. She received 69 votes. Her backers included members of Sink Optiva, a group which bitterly criticized the CU management on blogs and in e-mails alleging the CU had acted unfairly in voting procedures and was quietly planning to convert the CU to a mutual savings bank, a point strongly denied by Disterhoft.
Despite the backing for the director slate during the annual meeting, the Iowa City CU could still face a future name change. That's because the University of Iowa administration had suggested in February prior to a much-publicized member vote rejecting Optiva that it “may want to revisit” the issue of the CU retaining the university name in light of its market expansion. The CU operates in 14 eastern Iowa counties.
Disterhoft cited a Feb. 26 letter on Optiva from the University of Iowa General Counsel Marcus Mills. The Mills letter contains “not a demand but you will have to draw your own conclusions,” said Disterhoft.
A university spokesman the university “has long maintained very good relations with the credit union” noting the CU received the winning bid in January to open a branch in the student union and to offer CU-linked ID/ATM debit cards. The new student union branch is set to open in April. –[email protected]
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